Join & Give

About

Christine Federighi

American, 1949 - 2006

Winter/Summer Comes, 2002

On View

Stoneware

Dimensions: 67 × 9 × 9 in. (170.2 × 22.9 × 22.9 cm)

Museum purchase with funds from the Collection Endowment, 2016.35

Growing up in the Northwest, Christine Federighi was influenced by nature and Native American art. Drawing on these early influences, she is known for wrapping her life-size ceramic figures in an environment, in this case, rocky landscape, houses, a tree, and birds. According to the artist, "The image or symbol of a figure and house have been constant to my ideas. Very often these images have inscriptions or carvings that wrap the surface and further narrate their symbolism. I have allowed symbols to freely develop and become part of my body of work [...]. I've come to feel that we all have personal symbols or images that we consciously or unconsciously use for any variety of reasons. We can choose to investigate those reasons and make them specific or allow the symbols to freely assemble and become visual arrangements that are ambiguous or enigmatic - something that I prefer to have happen." Federighi received her BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art and MFA from New York State College of Ceramics, Alfred University.